Palladium's Gate by Janet Joyce Holden |
 | In a triumphant return to the world of ‘A Quiet |
THE SAMARITAN BY DAVE JEFFERY (BOOK REVIEW by tony jones)
When I started reading the latest instalment in Dave Jeffrey’s excellent post-apocalyptic series A Quiet Apocalypse, I was unsure how many further parts lay ahead and was cheered to discover that The Samaritan (part three) would not be the end of the road. What a relief. There is absolutely no drag or diminishing returns in this series and its continuation was very much welcomed. This was partially because I could not bear to see this terrific sequence end with the bleak manner in which The Samaritan concludes. Granted, in reality all the books are dark, but the finish of part three sent me spinning and I read the final page a couple of times just on the off chance I missed a glimmer of light and hope. No chance. It was not a long book, but the second half in particular was outstanding and I absorbed every work, slowly, hoping for sunlight at the end of the tunnel. Fat chance and I believe I would rather be a nameless victim in one of Jeffery’s werewolf or yeti stories than feature in what must be the grimmest and hopeless version of Birmingham ever committed to paper.
I would strongly recommend reading the books in the order in which they were written, which begins with A Quiet Apocalypse, followed by Cathedral and continues with The Samaritan. I thoroughly enjoyed part three and the series still has plenty of legs and once it is done and dusted, I hope the publisher Demain release a compendium as one volume in the same way Grey Matter Press have dropped a ‘definitive edition’ of John Taff’s The Fearing series of novellas. I was amazed to read Amazon has The Samaritan listed as 143-pages, as I was certain it was much shorter, I sped through it so fast. Actually, my major criticism of the book was that it was just too short and if you’re new to A Quiet Apocalypse you have the cool opportunity of reading all three back-to-back.
Although Jeffery provides useful recaps, let us quickly flip back to the original novella, A Quiet Apocalypse. The story is set some time after a mutant strain of meningitis (MNG-U) has wiped out most of mankind, the majority died horribly with symptoms which began with pneumonia before developing into bacterial meningitis and eventual death with catastrophic brain damage. The few who survived the epidemic were left deaf, an even smaller percentage retained their hearing, and the focus of the book concerns the horrible relationship which develops between those with hearing and those deprived of it. The novel is told, in the first person, by ex-schoolteacher Chris, who has been enslaved by a deaf man who uses Chris to be his ears and part of his early-warning-system towards potential threats. Communication is done via ‘Tell-Pads’ in which they exchange abbreviated messages similar to texts informing him of any sounds and disturbances. The Tell-Pads are crucial in subsequent books, particularly the second.
The second instalment Cathedral introduces a new group of characters and is set in the town of Cathedral, a location which is hinted at (with fear) in the original. Like its predecessor, Cathedral throws out the window most of the Mad Max type stereotypes you might expect in a post-apocalyptic novel and concentrates on characterisation, developing location and presenting a very convincing but brutal system of law and order which the inhabitants of the town follow in order to exist and survive. This is the core of the novella: how main character Sarah, who narrates the entire story in the first person, exists on a day-to-day basis. This element has a serious Handmaid’s Tale vibe to it and even features similar ritualistic torture and execution which all inhabitants have to watch by law, however, what makes Cathedral different from the Margaret Atwood classic is that the women are not subjugated, and this cleverly changes the dynamics of the plot moving away from the well-trodden route of women being oppressed in dystopian fiction and is more about the skewered relationship between those who can hear and those who cannot.
The Samaritan looks at the MNG-U apocalypse from a fresh angle focussing upon a Samaritan called Nathan when he goes on a scouting mission beyond Cathedral to scour the Wilderness for both resources and people who might have the ability to hear. There are rumours that there might be a camp of survivors nearby and they are looking to hunt them down to either enslave, kill or indoctrinate. Samaritans are a cross between policemen and enforcers who ensure everybody follows the system which is explained in book two. However, after things go wrong Nathan finds himself at the mercy of outsiders, given the chance, he would kill these people in seconds, but things do not go to plan, and this is key to this gripping novella.
Cathedral successfully pulls off the same trick as its predecessor and eschews any broad sweeps of the effects on MNG-U and instead focusses on a microcosm, which once it gets going involves only a few characters. It develops into a very warm story where Nathan, technically a ‘bad guy’ seemingly re-evaluates his life and role as a Samaritan through an inner first-person dialogue. Along the way we realise that areas of the Wilderness have regressed almost to an old feudal system where terrifying prices have to be paid for protection in a world where money is worthless. There was also a terrific sequence where a bear (probably escaped from a zoo) swaggers out of the overlying forest and threatens the group.
What made the novella extra special was the friendship which develops with Nathan and a little deaf girl called Lily. The child loves to draw and create cartoons, and this allows us to flip back into Nathan’s backstory, where he was a successful children’s author and starts to draw new ‘Pooch’ pictures for her. In a story which was altogether unforgiving this was a fleeting taste of innocence and hope for the reader to savour in the most desolate of landscapes.
Jeffery has stated that part four will be his final A Quiet Apocalypse story and as they are all loosely interconnected, I look forward to seeing what happens in the end and hope there is some payback for some of the darker events in Samaritan. There are various hints about which direction part four might take, potentially bringing together elements of parts one to three, or alternatively might focus on a specific part of the big picture. If it is to be the end, I hope Dave Jeffery decides to go large!
Samaritan is an excellent continuation of the A Quiet Apocalypse world and although all three novellas are great reads, it is significantly stronger when seen as one bigger package. New readers are in for a treat, and I imagine many will read the books straight through. The horror world is bubbling with great talent waiting to be discovered by a wider mass audience and via A Quiet Apocalypse Dave Jeffery deserves to be nudged several rungs up the ladder.
Tony Jones
I would strongly recommend reading the books in the order in which they were written, which begins with A Quiet Apocalypse, followed by Cathedral and continues with The Samaritan. I thoroughly enjoyed part three and the series still has plenty of legs and once it is done and dusted, I hope the publisher Demain release a compendium as one volume in the same way Grey Matter Press have dropped a ‘definitive edition’ of John Taff’s The Fearing series of novellas. I was amazed to read Amazon has The Samaritan listed as 143-pages, as I was certain it was much shorter, I sped through it so fast. Actually, my major criticism of the book was that it was just too short and if you’re new to A Quiet Apocalypse you have the cool opportunity of reading all three back-to-back.
Although Jeffery provides useful recaps, let us quickly flip back to the original novella, A Quiet Apocalypse. The story is set some time after a mutant strain of meningitis (MNG-U) has wiped out most of mankind, the majority died horribly with symptoms which began with pneumonia before developing into bacterial meningitis and eventual death with catastrophic brain damage. The few who survived the epidemic were left deaf, an even smaller percentage retained their hearing, and the focus of the book concerns the horrible relationship which develops between those with hearing and those deprived of it. The novel is told, in the first person, by ex-schoolteacher Chris, who has been enslaved by a deaf man who uses Chris to be his ears and part of his early-warning-system towards potential threats. Communication is done via ‘Tell-Pads’ in which they exchange abbreviated messages similar to texts informing him of any sounds and disturbances. The Tell-Pads are crucial in subsequent books, particularly the second.
The second instalment Cathedral introduces a new group of characters and is set in the town of Cathedral, a location which is hinted at (with fear) in the original. Like its predecessor, Cathedral throws out the window most of the Mad Max type stereotypes you might expect in a post-apocalyptic novel and concentrates on characterisation, developing location and presenting a very convincing but brutal system of law and order which the inhabitants of the town follow in order to exist and survive. This is the core of the novella: how main character Sarah, who narrates the entire story in the first person, exists on a day-to-day basis. This element has a serious Handmaid’s Tale vibe to it and even features similar ritualistic torture and execution which all inhabitants have to watch by law, however, what makes Cathedral different from the Margaret Atwood classic is that the women are not subjugated, and this cleverly changes the dynamics of the plot moving away from the well-trodden route of women being oppressed in dystopian fiction and is more about the skewered relationship between those who can hear and those who cannot.
The Samaritan looks at the MNG-U apocalypse from a fresh angle focussing upon a Samaritan called Nathan when he goes on a scouting mission beyond Cathedral to scour the Wilderness for both resources and people who might have the ability to hear. There are rumours that there might be a camp of survivors nearby and they are looking to hunt them down to either enslave, kill or indoctrinate. Samaritans are a cross between policemen and enforcers who ensure everybody follows the system which is explained in book two. However, after things go wrong Nathan finds himself at the mercy of outsiders, given the chance, he would kill these people in seconds, but things do not go to plan, and this is key to this gripping novella.
Cathedral successfully pulls off the same trick as its predecessor and eschews any broad sweeps of the effects on MNG-U and instead focusses on a microcosm, which once it gets going involves only a few characters. It develops into a very warm story where Nathan, technically a ‘bad guy’ seemingly re-evaluates his life and role as a Samaritan through an inner first-person dialogue. Along the way we realise that areas of the Wilderness have regressed almost to an old feudal system where terrifying prices have to be paid for protection in a world where money is worthless. There was also a terrific sequence where a bear (probably escaped from a zoo) swaggers out of the overlying forest and threatens the group.
What made the novella extra special was the friendship which develops with Nathan and a little deaf girl called Lily. The child loves to draw and create cartoons, and this allows us to flip back into Nathan’s backstory, where he was a successful children’s author and starts to draw new ‘Pooch’ pictures for her. In a story which was altogether unforgiving this was a fleeting taste of innocence and hope for the reader to savour in the most desolate of landscapes.
Jeffery has stated that part four will be his final A Quiet Apocalypse story and as they are all loosely interconnected, I look forward to seeing what happens in the end and hope there is some payback for some of the darker events in Samaritan. There are various hints about which direction part four might take, potentially bringing together elements of parts one to three, or alternatively might focus on a specific part of the big picture. If it is to be the end, I hope Dave Jeffery decides to go large!
Samaritan is an excellent continuation of the A Quiet Apocalypse world and although all three novellas are great reads, it is significantly stronger when seen as one bigger package. New readers are in for a treat, and I imagine many will read the books straight through. The horror world is bubbling with great talent waiting to be discovered by a wider mass audience and via A Quiet Apocalypse Dave Jeffery deserves to be nudged several rungs up the ladder.
Tony Jones
The Samaritan
by Dave Jeffery
HeAR ToDAY …
The disease known as MNG-U has staked its claim on humanity and ended the world. Those who survive have been robbed of their hearing, deafened in this quiet apocalypse. But in the city of Cathedral, they have found sanctuary.
Inside the walls, the meager populace relies on harsh governance to keep them safe. Outside the walls they depend on Samaritans, search teams who scour the Wilderness for both resource and threat. Bound by an oath to maintain and defend their city, Samaritans are the line separating Cathedral from disorder and ruin, a mandate they pursue ruthlessly and without question.
Until now.
On a routine recon, one Samaritan will find himself injured and alone and in desperate need of guidance. Where loyalties between the oath made to his beloved city will clash with promises from his past. Now he must question everything he knows, including his own purpose.
Because, lost in the Wilderness, redemption is about to become the only way to stay alive.
The Samaritan: Book 3 in The Quiet Apocalypse series.
The disease known as MNG-U has staked its claim on humanity and ended the world. Those who survive have been robbed of their hearing, deafened in this quiet apocalypse. But in the city of Cathedral, they have found sanctuary.
Inside the walls, the meager populace relies on harsh governance to keep them safe. Outside the walls they depend on Samaritans, search teams who scour the Wilderness for both resource and threat. Bound by an oath to maintain and defend their city, Samaritans are the line separating Cathedral from disorder and ruin, a mandate they pursue ruthlessly and without question.
Until now.
On a routine recon, one Samaritan will find himself injured and alone and in desperate need of guidance. Where loyalties between the oath made to his beloved city will clash with promises from his past. Now he must question everything he knows, including his own purpose.
Because, lost in the Wilderness, redemption is about to become the only way to stay alive.
The Samaritan: Book 3 in The Quiet Apocalypse series.
TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE
RICHARD MARTIN REVISITS THE MASTERS OF HORROR: THE SCREWFLY SOLUTION DIRECTED BY JOE DANTE
the heart and soul of horror fiction reviews
 | Eudora reminds me, fondly, of queer heroine Jenny Bonnet in Emma Donoghue’s Frog Music: both characters are unapologetic in their purposeful rage against societal expectations, and they do not give into their fears, even when backed into corners. |
Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper
(Book Review by Rebecca Rowland)
In S.H. Cooper’s Inheriting Her Ghosts, narrator Eudora Fellowes might have been thought of as a spinster, an unmarried woman pathetically well past her “prime,” but she is the first to correct that notion, clarifying from the beginning that she “never much cared for the male species. Or, more accurately, the human species as a whole. I was alone, and it suited me.” Victorian era heroine Eudora purposely chose a single life, sharing her days instead with two large dogs, and because of this, she confides she has been “made to live always as an outsider.” This element seems at first to be a throw-away detail, a nice seasoning Cooper tosses into the mixture to spice up her character, but it proves to be an important trait in the resolution of the story.
Eudora inherits a distant relative’s creepy estate; High Hearth, as it is called, has sat abandoned since Eudora’s aunt’s passing. Even the help departed from their service, so Eudora moves into the dusty old mansion with nothing but her wardrobe and her canine companions. Her benefactor “was not a well-loved woman,” and the “rumours that surround [the] house, and [her late aunt] are dark ones.” Neighbors once accused the widow of dabbling in evil practices, evoking spirits and the like, and there were whispers around town that the elderly woman was “a witch, a murderess, or both.” Instead of retreating to a fainting couch when she learns of this history, Eudora laughs off the superstitions and digs her heels in further, insisting on remaining in the house alone. What follows is a series of progressively unsettling chapters, including ones where Eudora roams the manor wielding a cleaver, she discovers her mangled belongings tossed about her dressing chamber by an unseen force, and an invisible being climbs into bed alongside her. All of the makings for a haunted house surface like a macabre game of whack-a-mole: mysteriously locked doors, phantom smells and shrieks, ominous floorboard creaks, and dank rooms lit solely by a single candle. And this is only in the first half of the narrative.
Cooper, to her credit, creates a protagonist that smashes gender stereotypes deliciously. Eudora reminds me, fondly, of queer heroine Jenny Bonnet in Emma Donoghue’s Frog Music: both characters are unapologetic in their purposeful rage against societal expectations, and they do not give into their fears, even when backed into corners. That being said, Eudora acts with as much foolish hubris as any male main character in a Gothic horror story. Even as the town vicar flees the house in fright, the heroine resolves to stay put and investigate the origins of the mysterious hauntings. “A woman’s choice is a questionable thing indeed when it does not lead to marriage and procreation,” confides Eudora, but by the latter half of Inheriting, readers will be clutching tightly onto Eudora’s arm as she intrepidly faces the ghoulish spirits of High Hearth, and no one will miss the testosterone. Fans of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, your next late night chiller has arrived.
Eudora inherits a distant relative’s creepy estate; High Hearth, as it is called, has sat abandoned since Eudora’s aunt’s passing. Even the help departed from their service, so Eudora moves into the dusty old mansion with nothing but her wardrobe and her canine companions. Her benefactor “was not a well-loved woman,” and the “rumours that surround [the] house, and [her late aunt] are dark ones.” Neighbors once accused the widow of dabbling in evil practices, evoking spirits and the like, and there were whispers around town that the elderly woman was “a witch, a murderess, or both.” Instead of retreating to a fainting couch when she learns of this history, Eudora laughs off the superstitions and digs her heels in further, insisting on remaining in the house alone. What follows is a series of progressively unsettling chapters, including ones where Eudora roams the manor wielding a cleaver, she discovers her mangled belongings tossed about her dressing chamber by an unseen force, and an invisible being climbs into bed alongside her. All of the makings for a haunted house surface like a macabre game of whack-a-mole: mysteriously locked doors, phantom smells and shrieks, ominous floorboard creaks, and dank rooms lit solely by a single candle. And this is only in the first half of the narrative.
Cooper, to her credit, creates a protagonist that smashes gender stereotypes deliciously. Eudora reminds me, fondly, of queer heroine Jenny Bonnet in Emma Donoghue’s Frog Music: both characters are unapologetic in their purposeful rage against societal expectations, and they do not give into their fears, even when backed into corners. That being said, Eudora acts with as much foolish hubris as any male main character in a Gothic horror story. Even as the town vicar flees the house in fright, the heroine resolves to stay put and investigate the origins of the mysterious hauntings. “A woman’s choice is a questionable thing indeed when it does not lead to marriage and procreation,” confides Eudora, but by the latter half of Inheriting, readers will be clutching tightly onto Eudora’s arm as she intrepidly faces the ghoulish spirits of High Hearth, and no one will miss the testosterone. Fans of Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black, your next late night chiller has arrived.
Inheriting Her Ghosts by S.H. Cooper
Inheritance often comes with strings attached, but rarely are they as tangled as those hanging over High Hearth.
When Eudora Fellowes learns she's the sole heir of her estranged great-aunt's seaside manor, she believes it will be the peaceful escape she's longed for. What awaits, however, is a dark legacy shrouded in half a century of secrets, and it doesn't take long before Eudora realizes she's not the only one to call High Hearth home.
When Eudora Fellowes learns she's the sole heir of her estranged great-aunt's seaside manor, she believes it will be the peaceful escape she's longed for. What awaits, however, is a dark legacy shrouded in half a century of secrets, and it doesn't take long before Eudora realizes she's not the only one to call High Hearth home.
TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE
FILM GUTTER REVIEWS: CATERPILLAR (KYATAPIRA) (1988) DIR. SHOZIN FUKUI
the heart and soul of horror fiction reviews
 | If, however, you are looking for a werewolf novel that grabs all of the expected tropes between its fangs and shreds them until there isn't a single recognisable werewolf cliche left, then this book is for you. |
WHAT BIG TEETH BY ROSE SZAB (BOOK REVIEW)
When is a werewolf novel not a werewolf novel? That's a question that needs tackling before going any further into this review of What Big Teeth by Rose Szabo.
Those of you looking for a classic werewolf novel filled with vivid descriptions of people transforming from human to Wolfen form, or long gory passages from the wolf's perspective as it hunts down its prey, then this book won't scratch that itch. If, however, you are looking for a werewolf novel that grabs all of the expected tropes between its fangs and shreds them until there isn't a single recognisable werewolf cliche left, then this book is for you.
In Rose Szabo's What Big Teeth, Eleanor Zarrin returns to her family home eight years after being sent to boarding school. It should be a time of joy, but like events that resulted in Eleanor being sent away, her return to the family home is shrouded in mystery. Eleanor is as nervous and scared about returning home as she is excited and relieved to finally leave the boarding school that has been the bane of her life for eight years.
Her family is not your average family, a strange mix of werefolk, witches, and possibly some other denizens of the dark, and it is a family that is always on the brink of exploding and returning the old feral ways. It is only the stern, strick guiding hand of her Grandmother that keeps the family together, but when her Grandmother dies not long after Eleanor's return, it is up to Eleanor to keep the Zarrin family from imploding.
What follows is a dark and twisted gothic fairytale that isn't afraid to bare its teeth at the genre conventions. Szabo wastes no time telling us that the Zarrins are werewolves, although to be honest, there shouldn't be any doubts based on the fantastic cover for this edition of the book from Titan Publishing. However, right from the get-go, we know that they are far from your typical furry monsters, and here lies the central theme of the novel. Szabo uses the werewolves as a powerful metaphor for identity, family and gender, and the dangers of holding onto trauma through a family.
One of the many strengths of this novel is that the gothic and werewolf side of the story is almost superfluous to the subjects being tackled. Now that might sound like a criticism, but if you edited out all of the mentions of the family being werefolk, you would still be left with a powerful and satisfying discourse of the subject matter. But isn't that the purpose of a good metaphor? Framing the story within a gothic fairy tale setting allows Szabo to tackle these subjects with a sensitive ear to the issues surrounding them. At no point does it ever feel as though you are being beaten around the head with a heavy hand; Szabo's handling of the themes within the novel is at times so subtle that you only realise what certain sections of the book are about long after you have read them, and for this reviewer that is a sign of a writer who is aware of the how-to handle sensitive topics within the narrative.
Another strength of the novel is Szabo limiting the story's scope in terms of location by keeping the places limited to the house with the occasional trip into the local town; Szabo has helped to give the narrative a wonderfully claustrophobic sense of dread. Like the protagonists of the story, you, the reader, become trapped within the narrative drive of the story.
My only criticism of What Big Teeth leads us into the novel's next strength: The family itself. I felt that the family was introduced a shade too quickly; for me, this leads to a period of slight confusion as to who was who and how they fitted into the family.
The family itself are just superb, brutal, feral, and always on the brink of doing something nasty; they are not the sort of family you'd invite round for a dinner party. But that's what makes them so engaging as a cast of characters. Szabo could have quickly gone for the pure sympathetic portrayal of them. What Big Teeth would have suffered if Szabo went for a sanitised, teen-friendly approach to the novel. Yes, a Groovy Ghoulies type family would have made it easier for the author to hang the story's themes onto, but this would have made for a far less believable and satisfying delivery of the story's message. Families aren't always nice, families can be horrible, and sometimes blood isn't thicker than water. I loved how Szabo used the notion of generational guilt and trauma to drive home the themes of this novel. Yes, Eleanor is a Zarrin, but her inability to transform sets her apart from the rest of the family to the point where you can feel the fear her Grandfather has towards her.
However, as the narrative moves on, you become, for want of a better word, respectful of the Zarrins. Szabo ensures that they all have time to grow and develop as the story unfolds. Secrets are revealed, motivations are discussed, allowing the plot points to feel completely natural in their execution.
This is Eleanor's story, above everyone's else's. And what a refreshing character to have as a lead. She is deeply flawed, and while her actions may have everyone's best interests at heart, she doesn't always make the right decision. You will swing from loving her to screaming, "what the hell are you doing?", it is a bold move to have such a complex character as the main protagonist. Far too many readers are only comfortable with binary characters, the hero, the villain, the sidekick, but as I said right at the start of this review, What Big Teeth rips these tired tropes and cliches to shreds.
Of course, a book about werefolk, and other creatures of myth, must touch upon the power of transformation, and this book doesn't shy away from that. In the most basic terms, I loved how the transformation from human to werewolf was handled so matter of factly. There are no scenes of hair sprouting, no spines getting cracked, and no claws bursting forth from cracked fingers. I could be wrong here, but I felt that instantaneous transformation was used to support the exploration of gender within a family group. Being werewolves was used to show that nothing is terrifying or different about this side of their identity and nature, with Eleanor's inability to transform being used to show that she isn't like the rest of the family. However, she is still family and needs to accept the part of her that makes her different. ( I could have completely missed the point here, so apologies if my heavy-handed interpretation is wide of the topic)
What Big Teeth is an irresistible read; its measured pace draws the reading into the dark and musty den of one the most interesting werewolf clans ever committed to paper. Szabo teases every last drop of tension out of the tight narrative. Secrets are revealed precisely where they are needed giving this non-Southern Gothic novel a fantastic languid Southern Gothic Feel.
Those of you looking for a classic werewolf novel filled with vivid descriptions of people transforming from human to Wolfen form, or long gory passages from the wolf's perspective as it hunts down its prey, then this book won't scratch that itch. If, however, you are looking for a werewolf novel that grabs all of the expected tropes between its fangs and shreds them until there isn't a single recognisable werewolf cliche left, then this book is for you.
In Rose Szabo's What Big Teeth, Eleanor Zarrin returns to her family home eight years after being sent to boarding school. It should be a time of joy, but like events that resulted in Eleanor being sent away, her return to the family home is shrouded in mystery. Eleanor is as nervous and scared about returning home as she is excited and relieved to finally leave the boarding school that has been the bane of her life for eight years.
Her family is not your average family, a strange mix of werefolk, witches, and possibly some other denizens of the dark, and it is a family that is always on the brink of exploding and returning the old feral ways. It is only the stern, strick guiding hand of her Grandmother that keeps the family together, but when her Grandmother dies not long after Eleanor's return, it is up to Eleanor to keep the Zarrin family from imploding.
What follows is a dark and twisted gothic fairytale that isn't afraid to bare its teeth at the genre conventions. Szabo wastes no time telling us that the Zarrins are werewolves, although to be honest, there shouldn't be any doubts based on the fantastic cover for this edition of the book from Titan Publishing. However, right from the get-go, we know that they are far from your typical furry monsters, and here lies the central theme of the novel. Szabo uses the werewolves as a powerful metaphor for identity, family and gender, and the dangers of holding onto trauma through a family.
One of the many strengths of this novel is that the gothic and werewolf side of the story is almost superfluous to the subjects being tackled. Now that might sound like a criticism, but if you edited out all of the mentions of the family being werefolk, you would still be left with a powerful and satisfying discourse of the subject matter. But isn't that the purpose of a good metaphor? Framing the story within a gothic fairy tale setting allows Szabo to tackle these subjects with a sensitive ear to the issues surrounding them. At no point does it ever feel as though you are being beaten around the head with a heavy hand; Szabo's handling of the themes within the novel is at times so subtle that you only realise what certain sections of the book are about long after you have read them, and for this reviewer that is a sign of a writer who is aware of the how-to handle sensitive topics within the narrative.
Another strength of the novel is Szabo limiting the story's scope in terms of location by keeping the places limited to the house with the occasional trip into the local town; Szabo has helped to give the narrative a wonderfully claustrophobic sense of dread. Like the protagonists of the story, you, the reader, become trapped within the narrative drive of the story.
My only criticism of What Big Teeth leads us into the novel's next strength: The family itself. I felt that the family was introduced a shade too quickly; for me, this leads to a period of slight confusion as to who was who and how they fitted into the family.
The family itself are just superb, brutal, feral, and always on the brink of doing something nasty; they are not the sort of family you'd invite round for a dinner party. But that's what makes them so engaging as a cast of characters. Szabo could have quickly gone for the pure sympathetic portrayal of them. What Big Teeth would have suffered if Szabo went for a sanitised, teen-friendly approach to the novel. Yes, a Groovy Ghoulies type family would have made it easier for the author to hang the story's themes onto, but this would have made for a far less believable and satisfying delivery of the story's message. Families aren't always nice, families can be horrible, and sometimes blood isn't thicker than water. I loved how Szabo used the notion of generational guilt and trauma to drive home the themes of this novel. Yes, Eleanor is a Zarrin, but her inability to transform sets her apart from the rest of the family to the point where you can feel the fear her Grandfather has towards her.
However, as the narrative moves on, you become, for want of a better word, respectful of the Zarrins. Szabo ensures that they all have time to grow and develop as the story unfolds. Secrets are revealed, motivations are discussed, allowing the plot points to feel completely natural in their execution.
This is Eleanor's story, above everyone's else's. And what a refreshing character to have as a lead. She is deeply flawed, and while her actions may have everyone's best interests at heart, she doesn't always make the right decision. You will swing from loving her to screaming, "what the hell are you doing?", it is a bold move to have such a complex character as the main protagonist. Far too many readers are only comfortable with binary characters, the hero, the villain, the sidekick, but as I said right at the start of this review, What Big Teeth rips these tired tropes and cliches to shreds.
Of course, a book about werefolk, and other creatures of myth, must touch upon the power of transformation, and this book doesn't shy away from that. In the most basic terms, I loved how the transformation from human to werewolf was handled so matter of factly. There are no scenes of hair sprouting, no spines getting cracked, and no claws bursting forth from cracked fingers. I could be wrong here, but I felt that instantaneous transformation was used to support the exploration of gender within a family group. Being werewolves was used to show that nothing is terrifying or different about this side of their identity and nature, with Eleanor's inability to transform being used to show that she isn't like the rest of the family. However, she is still family and needs to accept the part of her that makes her different. ( I could have completely missed the point here, so apologies if my heavy-handed interpretation is wide of the topic)
What Big Teeth is an irresistible read; its measured pace draws the reading into the dark and musty den of one the most interesting werewolf clans ever committed to paper. Szabo teases every last drop of tension out of the tight narrative. Secrets are revealed precisely where they are needed giving this non-Southern Gothic novel a fantastic languid Southern Gothic Feel.
What Big Teeth by Rose Szab
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children meets The Addams Family in this haunting story of one girl's attempt to reconnect with her monstrous family.
Eleanor has not seen or spoken with her family in years, not since they sent her away to Saint Brigid's boarding school. She knows them only as vague memories: her grandfather's tremendous fanged snout, the barrel full of water her mother always soaked in, and strange hunting trips in a dark wood with her sister and cousins.
When Eleanor finally returns to their ancestral home on the rainy coast of Maine, she finds them already gathered in wait, seemingly ready to welcome her back with open arms. But a strange and sudden death rocks the family, and in order to keep the family that abandoned her from falling apart, Eleanor calls upon her mysterious other grandmother from across the sea.
Grandmere brings order to the chaotic household, but that order soon turns to tyranny. If any of them are to survive, Eleanor must embrace her strange family and confront the monstrousness lurking deep within her Grandmere – and herself.
Eleanor has not seen or spoken with her family in years, not since they sent her away to Saint Brigid's boarding school. She knows them only as vague memories: her grandfather's tremendous fanged snout, the barrel full of water her mother always soaked in, and strange hunting trips in a dark wood with her sister and cousins.
When Eleanor finally returns to their ancestral home on the rainy coast of Maine, she finds them already gathered in wait, seemingly ready to welcome her back with open arms. But a strange and sudden death rocks the family, and in order to keep the family that abandoned her from falling apart, Eleanor calls upon her mysterious other grandmother from across the sea.
Grandmere brings order to the chaotic household, but that order soon turns to tyranny. If any of them are to survive, Eleanor must embrace her strange family and confront the monstrousness lurking deep within her Grandmere – and herself.
THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR REVIEW WEBSITES
 | Chris Lackey, Chad Fifer* and Ian Culbard must have had a ball making Deadbeats. When you come across something as fun and effortless to read as this Mythos-soaked (but wholly original) tale, it's kind of hard to imagine the creators had to actually work at it |
SPLASHES OF DARKNESS: Deadbeats
comic review BY Dion Winton-Polak
Comic-books are a medium, not a genre; they can tell any story and suit any palate. You want horror? I've got bottles of the stuff. Welcome to 'Splashes of Darkness.'
Deadbeats has got pep, has real character and is surprisingly refreshing. It's two parts necromantic nightmare, two parts screwball comedy, a splash of gangster noir and a squeeze of Lovecraft Country. Stir it at midnight, pour over ice and serve in a rough glass tumbler.
It's all about the hustle. Keep moving, and you just might stay afloat. Hell, you could even have some fun along the way; that's jazz! When Lester Lane flattens the wrong fella, he has to get out of town in a hurry. He scores a desperate gig for his band - a midnight funeral in the backwoods of Illinois. There's a particular piece the preacher wants them to play, but there's just one problem: he can't read sheet music. Now, caught between an undead sorceror, a troublesome dame, some relentless revenants and an apocalyptic god-monster, it's time for the trio to do some serious improvisation.
Chris Lackey, Chad Fifer* and Ian Culbard must have had a ball making Deadbeats. When you come across something as fun and effortless to read as this Mythos-soaked (but wholly original) tale, it's kind of hard to imagine the creators had to actually work at it - yet the more I look through the pages, the more impressed I am by the talents involved.
Deadbeats has got pep, has real character and is surprisingly refreshing. It's two parts necromantic nightmare, two parts screwball comedy, a splash of gangster noir and a squeeze of Lovecraft Country. Stir it at midnight, pour over ice and serve in a rough glass tumbler.
It's all about the hustle. Keep moving, and you just might stay afloat. Hell, you could even have some fun along the way; that's jazz! When Lester Lane flattens the wrong fella, he has to get out of town in a hurry. He scores a desperate gig for his band - a midnight funeral in the backwoods of Illinois. There's a particular piece the preacher wants them to play, but there's just one problem: he can't read sheet music. Now, caught between an undead sorceror, a troublesome dame, some relentless revenants and an apocalyptic god-monster, it's time for the trio to do some serious improvisation.
Chris Lackey, Chad Fifer* and Ian Culbard must have had a ball making Deadbeats. When you come across something as fun and effortless to read as this Mythos-soaked (but wholly original) tale, it's kind of hard to imagine the creators had to actually work at it - yet the more I look through the pages, the more impressed I am by the talents involved.
Fifer has experience writing for film and television, and those skills were clearly put to use in honing the script with Lackey. It's an elegant job, weaving backstory, personalities, running jokes and drama through dialogue that never feels less than naturalistic. The patter is an absolute joy, by the way, and it's a mark its strength to note just how little the writers rely on text boxes for exposition. The plot flings the trio from one crisis to another in seemingly wild abandon, yet the boys bring it home with barely a word wasted.
That economy gives Culbard plenty of space to work his magic - and let me tell you, this man knows how to make the most of his inches.** He uses tricks of scale and perspective to give a real sense of three-dimensionality to the world, packing his panels with incident, detail, and character moments. His visual story-telling flows effortlessly, building pace, tension and some truly great comedic timing. Even his layouts*** are energetic, with panels toppling forwards as though in a hurry to be seen, or overlaying one another to punch out of the page. All in all, it's pretty damned effective.
I could go on about Deadbeats cinematic potential, the innocent charm of the character design, the missing pants of 'The Dixie Peach' and a great many other things, but I've taken up enough of your time already. You need to go read this book. It's a gas!
If you've avoided all things Lovecraft because of the old-fashioned stick up his literary arse, if you've been put off by his racism, or if you feel like you've already squeezed everything you're going to get from the Mythos - then I respect your position. Deadbeats is a very different kettle of fish, though. It's down-to-earth, it's laugh-out-loud funny, and it has a hell of a lot of heart in its cadaverous chest. The only racism present lies in the lips and the minds of the villains. They may draw from Lovecraft's deep, dark well, but Lackey and Fifer leave all of the poison behind. What we get here is sharp, fun, and worth your money. Splash out! You deserve it.
Written by Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer]
Illustrated by I.N.J. Culbard
Published by Self Made Hero
Available now!
Reading experience: 5/5
Reviewer: Dion Winton-Polak
* Who, amongst other things, are the genial, insightful and engaging hosts of the long-running [HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast].
** You have a filthy mind. Stop it.
*** A glossary of comic terminology [can be found here] if you need it.
Illustrated by I.N.J. Culbard
Published by Self Made Hero
Available now!
Reading experience: 5/5
Reviewer: Dion Winton-Polak
* Who, amongst other things, are the genial, insightful and engaging hosts of the long-running [HP Lovecraft Literary Podcast].
** You have a filthy mind. Stop it.
*** A glossary of comic terminology [can be found here] if you need it.
TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE
MIDNIGHT IN THE CHAPEL OF LOVE BY MATTHEW R. DAVIS (BOOK REVIEW)
THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR COMIC REVIEWS
 | The racism was represented as it should be, ugly, inexcusable and spiteful. Whereas non of the main characters are necessarily massively likeable, they all feel like real people. |
MIDNIGHT IN THE CHAPEL OF LOVE BY MATTHEW R. DAVIS
(BOOK REVIEW by astrid addams)
First of all, Midnight in the Chapel of Love came to over 500 pages on my e reader. I admit, for the first 200 pages it was a struggle, awkward situations following a not hugely likeable and frustrating main character avoiding his past and drinking. I kept reading because the story was interesting enough to keep at it. The final 300 pages flew by as hinted at events and mysteries came together and the gut punch, tragic climax is worth the wait. But this is not a novel about the climax, it is a long slow meander through life, leading to what feels like an inevitable the tragic ending.
The story is told through a mixture of flash backs and current events. Primarily the story is told from Jonny’s point of view. However the novel starts decades before any of the main action with a car chase and a shoot out involving a teenage Natural Born Killer kind of couple. There significance is not revealed until hundreds of pages into the novel. The main narrative focus’s on Jonny whose guilt is driving him home to face his fathers funeral and the old town and forsaken friends of his past. As he returns to the old town with his partner Sloan, Jonny remembers his past, in particular Jessica and his old friends. The narratives interweave, forcing forwards towards Jessica’s disappearance and inevitably the Chapel of Love, an ancient local legend, that pulls Jonny towards it. A combination of guilt, longing and manipulation drag Jonny back to the Chapel of Love with devastating consequences.
Over all I enjoyed this book. Whilst it could have been shorter by a few hundred pages, all the narrative had relevance and entangled to flesh out the story and characters. The racism was represented as it should be, ugly, inexcusable and spiteful. Whereas non of the main characters are necessarily massively likeable, they all feel like real people. The narrative is structured in a way that delays the plot to create suspense, sometimes it felt like it was done too much. Midnight in the Chapel of Love is a story about love and the stupid and deadly things people do because of it. This is a slow burn story that leaves the main horror right until the bitter end.
The story is told through a mixture of flash backs and current events. Primarily the story is told from Jonny’s point of view. However the novel starts decades before any of the main action with a car chase and a shoot out involving a teenage Natural Born Killer kind of couple. There significance is not revealed until hundreds of pages into the novel. The main narrative focus’s on Jonny whose guilt is driving him home to face his fathers funeral and the old town and forsaken friends of his past. As he returns to the old town with his partner Sloan, Jonny remembers his past, in particular Jessica and his old friends. The narratives interweave, forcing forwards towards Jessica’s disappearance and inevitably the Chapel of Love, an ancient local legend, that pulls Jonny towards it. A combination of guilt, longing and manipulation drag Jonny back to the Chapel of Love with devastating consequences.
Over all I enjoyed this book. Whilst it could have been shorter by a few hundred pages, all the narrative had relevance and entangled to flesh out the story and characters. The racism was represented as it should be, ugly, inexcusable and spiteful. Whereas non of the main characters are necessarily massively likeable, they all feel like real people. The narrative is structured in a way that delays the plot to create suspense, sometimes it felt like it was done too much. Midnight in the Chapel of Love is a story about love and the stupid and deadly things people do because of it. This is a slow burn story that leaves the main horror right until the bitter end.
MIDNIGHT IN THE CHAPEL OF LOVE BY MATTHEW R. DAVIS
THE MAN
Jonny Trotter has spent the last fifteen years running from tragic memories of the country town where he grew up-but the black envelopes pushed under his door won't let him forget, and now that his father has died, he can run no more.
THE TOWN
Returning to Waterwich for the funeral and wake with his partner Sloane, Jonny must confront old resentments, his estranged best friends Brendan and Coralie, a strange, veiled woman the locals call the White Widow...and the mystery surrounding the fate of his first lover, Jessica Grzelak.
THE GIRL
A morbid and reckless city girl banished to the country to live with her aunt, Jessica loved to push the limits and explore the shadows-and no one has seen her since the night of her high school formal, the night she and Jonny went looking for the Chapel.
THE CHAPEL
Rumoured to be found in the woods outside Waterwich, mentioned in playground rhymes about local lovebirds Billy and Poppy and their killing spree in 1964, the Chapel is said to be an ancient, sacred place that can only be entered by lovers-a test that can only be passed if their bond is pure and true.
THE TRUTH
Before he can move on to a future with Sloane, Jonny must first face the terrible truth of his past-and if he can't bring it out into the light at last, it might just pull him and everything he loves down into the dark, forever.
Jonny Trotter has spent the last fifteen years running from tragic memories of the country town where he grew up-but the black envelopes pushed under his door won't let him forget, and now that his father has died, he can run no more.
THE TOWN
Returning to Waterwich for the funeral and wake with his partner Sloane, Jonny must confront old resentments, his estranged best friends Brendan and Coralie, a strange, veiled woman the locals call the White Widow...and the mystery surrounding the fate of his first lover, Jessica Grzelak.
THE GIRL
A morbid and reckless city girl banished to the country to live with her aunt, Jessica loved to push the limits and explore the shadows-and no one has seen her since the night of her high school formal, the night she and Jonny went looking for the Chapel.
THE CHAPEL
Rumoured to be found in the woods outside Waterwich, mentioned in playground rhymes about local lovebirds Billy and Poppy and their killing spree in 1964, the Chapel is said to be an ancient, sacred place that can only be entered by lovers-a test that can only be passed if their bond is pure and true.
THE TRUTH
Before he can move on to a future with Sloane, Jonny must first face the terrible truth of his past-and if he can't bring it out into the light at last, it might just pull him and everything he loves down into the dark, forever.
TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE
SPLASHES OF DARKNESS: DEADBEATS
(COMIC REVIEW)
THE HEART AND SOUL OF HORROR REVIEW WEBSITES
 | Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica is the book I didn’t know I needed but I’m damn glad I have. It’s a wildly entertaining, gut-bustingly funny book filled to the brim with an infectious affection for these gory, silly and often downright inspired movie |
ENCYCLOPEDIA SHARKSPLOITANICA BY SUSAN SNYDER
(BOOK REVIEW by richard martin)
The latest release from indie horror publisher Madness Heart Press is a book after my own heart. Author, marine biologist and self-professed shark fanatic Susan Snyder, creator of the Sharksploitation Sunday blog, has collected 85 of her tongue-in-cheek film reviews, all focused on cinema’s most prolific and unjustly maligned genre (the sharksploitation movie) and collected them all here in one indispensable reference guide.
Every horror movie fan and their dog must have watched ‘Jaws’ a half dozen times or more by now. Its spot in movie history is assured and, cultural impact aside, it also stands up over 45 years on as a near perfect movie and one that has spawned imitators in their hundreds. Snyder’s focus with Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica is shining a light on the less well-known of these cinematic copycats.
You may have watched ‘Jaws’ but how about ‘Santa Jaws’?
‘Roboshark’?
‘Sharks of the Corn’?
No? You don’t know what you’ve been missing! Not to worry though; Susan Snyder is here to help.
Existing fans of Snyder’s blog have plenty of reason to pick this up, as the book boasts some exclusive content, fantastic illustrations and a handful of illuminating interviews with sharksploitation creators from both behind and in front of the camera. The reviews are the real treat though. None outstay their welcome, clocking in at a couple of pages each. The author’s love of the genre shines through in all of them and they all come with an extra big dose of humour and self-deprecation that make this collection charming, funny and a whole lot of fun to read.
The amount of absolutely useless knowledge I obtained from this book is truly incredible. Did you know that Mila Kunis made her film debut in the 1995 remake of Joe Dante’s Piranha? I sure didn’t. I didn’t even know that film existed! You can’t tell, but there was a 90-minute gap between me writing this paragraph and the next one while I went and watched it (spoiler – it was very good). That is what Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica does to you.
I think it is only fair to warn potential readers to set aside some serious reading time for this book, because simply reading it isn’t enough. I must have put this book down two dozen times (at least) in order to watch the trailer for ‘Shark Encounters of the Third Kind’ or ‘Sharktopus vs Whalewolf’ or any number of frankly incredible sounding movies I’ve never heard of before. I have ended up with a daunting list of weird and wonderful films to track down, on top of reading a thoroughly enjoyable book. Talk about value for money!
After reading Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica it is almost inevitable that you will end up watching some shark movies. It is unavoidable. My advice; just give in and go with it. I certainly did. I could have gone with a triple bill of ‘Jaws’, ‘Deep Blue Sea’ and ‘The Shallows’ and satisfied my cravings with the best the sub-genre has to offer, but I ask you, where’s the fun? Where’s the adventure? Instead, I picked five movies from Susan’s veritable buffet of aquatic terrors and settled in for a movie marathon of shark hauntings, ill-fated prison breaks and a lot of pissed off sharks. Let’s do this!
Every horror movie fan and their dog must have watched ‘Jaws’ a half dozen times or more by now. Its spot in movie history is assured and, cultural impact aside, it also stands up over 45 years on as a near perfect movie and one that has spawned imitators in their hundreds. Snyder’s focus with Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica is shining a light on the less well-known of these cinematic copycats.
You may have watched ‘Jaws’ but how about ‘Santa Jaws’?
‘Roboshark’?
‘Sharks of the Corn’?
No? You don’t know what you’ve been missing! Not to worry though; Susan Snyder is here to help.
Existing fans of Snyder’s blog have plenty of reason to pick this up, as the book boasts some exclusive content, fantastic illustrations and a handful of illuminating interviews with sharksploitation creators from both behind and in front of the camera. The reviews are the real treat though. None outstay their welcome, clocking in at a couple of pages each. The author’s love of the genre shines through in all of them and they all come with an extra big dose of humour and self-deprecation that make this collection charming, funny and a whole lot of fun to read.
The amount of absolutely useless knowledge I obtained from this book is truly incredible. Did you know that Mila Kunis made her film debut in the 1995 remake of Joe Dante’s Piranha? I sure didn’t. I didn’t even know that film existed! You can’t tell, but there was a 90-minute gap between me writing this paragraph and the next one while I went and watched it (spoiler – it was very good). That is what Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica does to you.
I think it is only fair to warn potential readers to set aside some serious reading time for this book, because simply reading it isn’t enough. I must have put this book down two dozen times (at least) in order to watch the trailer for ‘Shark Encounters of the Third Kind’ or ‘Sharktopus vs Whalewolf’ or any number of frankly incredible sounding movies I’ve never heard of before. I have ended up with a daunting list of weird and wonderful films to track down, on top of reading a thoroughly enjoyable book. Talk about value for money!
After reading Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica it is almost inevitable that you will end up watching some shark movies. It is unavoidable. My advice; just give in and go with it. I certainly did. I could have gone with a triple bill of ‘Jaws’, ‘Deep Blue Sea’ and ‘The Shallows’ and satisfied my cravings with the best the sub-genre has to offer, but I ask you, where’s the fun? Where’s the adventure? Instead, I picked five movies from Susan’s veritable buffet of aquatic terrors and settled in for a movie marathon of shark hauntings, ill-fated prison breaks and a lot of pissed off sharks. Let’s do this!
Shark Week (2012)
Eight years after ‘Saw’ and its forty-seven sequels, Asylum did it better, and with 100% more sharks!
Seriously, this film is basically ‘Saw’ at sea. The plot, for what it’s worth, features a rich madman and his island that is teeming with sharks. Feeling wronged by a group of seven people for reasons that are both gradually revealed and largely irrelevant he has them kidnapped and brought to his lair where he has arranged an elaborate series of traps that the group must navigate to survive. Each day brings a new trap that features a new breed of shark.
I loved the concept of this one and it plays things relatively straight. Granted, the acting is generally not the best and the shark special effects are pretty atrocious, even for an almost decade old TV movie, but if nothing else, it’s a ton of fun and wildly unpredictable
To be honest, the movie is worth a watch for Patrick Bergin alone. The man is *literally* clutching pearls throughout the whole film. Every line he delivers is dripping with malice and his ‘crazy eyes’ acting method is something to behold. Given the choice between being in the room with him or one of his sharks, I’d take my chances with the shark any day.
Joking aside, I did genuinely enjoy Shark Week. It’s a great idea with and some inventive traps and beautiful locales. The characters are broad enough to be distinguishable from one another and, for a company who’ve made a name for themselves with rip-off mockbusters, it’s nice to see something bordering on originality from Asylum.
This is a solid three “exploding sharks” out of five for me.
Shark Lake (2015)
Dolph Lundgren has an honest to god fist fight with a shark in this movie, which bumped it straight to the top of my ‘to watch list’. The poster gave me cause for concern however, given its brooding, overly serious vibe. Would I be in for an epic 80s style throwdown, or a tedious melodrama masquerading as a shark movie? Let’s find out!
Rocky’s greatest nemesis plays an illegal exotic species dealer fresh out of prison whose former employer pressures him into completing the job he went to jail for; delivering a female bull shark. Dolph left the bull shark in a local lake before getting locked up and the shark now has a couple of kids who are feasting on the hapless locals.
OK, so Shark Lake is more ‘Jaws’ than ‘Sharknado’. It plays out like a family drama that happens to have a pretty impressive body count. The thriller stuff is broad but relatively engaging. The sharks look awful but are wisely kept off-screen for the most part. There are some genuinely neat scenes though and as long as you don’t go in expecting big action and sharks aplenty, it’s a better movie than it has any right to be.
Regardless of any minor quibbles I may have had with ‘Shark Lake’, at the end of the day, Dolph Lundgren has a punch-up with a shark, so I can’t, in all good conscience, give this one any less than the full five “ill-advised skinny dippers” out of five.
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus (2009)
Confession time. This was not my first time watching this movie. I had a particularly memorable double bill of this and the stone-cold classic, ‘Boa vs Python’ in my youth and I look back at both fondly as being hugely entertaining trash.
The plot? A shark and an octopus of the mega-giant variety are unwittingly unfrozen and Debbie Gibson and her superior science skills are the only thing that stand in the way of a total sharktopusapocalypse. That’s about it, it’s best not to overthink these things.
What I love about this movie is how well it strikes the balance between taking this nonsense seriously, and being in on the joke. It plays the people centric plot fairly straight, but dials things to eleven for the titular creatures, who attack fighter jets and eat airliners, not to mention the shark that takes a nice big bite out of the Brooklyn Bridge. It’s a ton of fun and the filmmakers know it.
I can forgive the movie playing fast and loose with the general concept of science (hint – it is not pouring a beaker of coloured liquid into another beaker of different coloured liquid, then looking disappointed, on repeat, for 90 minutes) but I cannot forgive the surprising lack of shark action. I practically cheered when the scientists decide in act three that their beakers aren’t getting them anywhere so the ideal solution is to just let the pair fight it out. Finally!
Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus is, in its own weird way, hugely influential and its success upon release is a major contributing factor to the post ‘Sharknado’ world we all live in today. For that alone, it is deserving of four ‘LL Cool J’s’ out of five.
Ghost Shark (2013)
Never mind whether you thought it was safe to go back into the water, Ghost Shark makes it unsafe to even take a glass of water up with you at bedtime! Anywhere there is water, whether that be your shower, your garden sprinklers or even your toilet, Ghost Shark may be lurking.
When a competitive fisherman kills a shark in retaliation for eating his prize catch, the shark does not go gently into that good night, instead coming back from the dead to haunt the local town and enact its toothsome vengeance. Just staying on dry land is not going to help you this time!
Seriously, this shark is nothing if not inventive when it comes to its kills.
An outdoor swimming pool in one awesome early scene is nothing compared to the insanity that follows. Bathtubs, kitchen sinks, slip n’ slides, even an office water cooler, this is one creative shark. It gets plenty of screen-time and racks up a hell of a body-count, usually in the silliest and most hilarious way possible.
A sub-plot revolving around a local curse and a grieving local lighthouse keeper make attempts to provide some explanation around the whys of Ghost Shark but, frankly, who cares. The shark died and came back as a ghost to eat people. Works for me!
Ghost Shark is a ton of fun. The effects are surprisingly decent and it fully embraces its ridiculousness. A very well earned four ‘ominous shark fins’ out of five.
Never mind whether you thought it was safe to go back into the water, Ghost Shark makes it unsafe to even take a glass of water up with you at bedtime! Anywhere there is water, whether that be your shower, your garden sprinklers or even your toilet, Ghost Shark may be lurking.
When a competitive fisherman kills a shark in retaliation for eating his prize catch, the shark does not go gently into that good night, instead coming back from the dead to haunt the local town and enact its toothsome vengeance. Just staying on dry land is not going to help you this time!
Seriously, this shark is nothing if not inventive when it comes to its kills.
An outdoor swimming pool in one awesome early scene is nothing compared to the insanity that follows. Bathtubs, kitchen sinks, slip n’ slides, even an office water cooler, this is one creative shark. It gets plenty of screen-time and racks up a hell of a body-count, usually in the silliest and most hilarious way possible.
A sub-plot revolving around a local curse and a grieving local lighthouse keeper make attempts to provide some explanation around the whys of Ghost Shark but, frankly, who cares. The shark died and came back as a ghost to eat people. Works for me!
Ghost Shark is a ton of fun. The effects are surprisingly decent and it fully embraces its ridiculousness. A very well earned four ‘ominous shark fins’ out of five.
Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre (2015)
They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre makes a good case for judging a movie by its title.
A small group of female inmates are sent out into the Arkansas swamps for a spot of menial labour. Clad in their prison issue skimpy vests and cut-off jeans, the girls planned escape is soon thwarted when a prehistoric shark is unwittingly set loose by a fracking accident.
Things start off promisingly and, for a shark movie, there are surprisingly few scenes that feel lifted directly from ‘Jaws’. ‘Tremors’ on the other hand, seems to be fair game.
Major bonus point get awarded for the shark design. It seems to be armoured, is covered in spikes, and looks metal as hell. A lack of water doesn’t deter it in the slightest. It swims just as efficiently under the ground as it does in the swamp, giving the producers a good excuse not to spend the budget on actually showing them all that often.
Sadly, points must also be deducted for being surprisingly dull. It never fully embraces the absurdity and while there are few good lines and feisty characters abound, the shark stuff is weirdly uninspired. There are a lot of scenes where the girls get changed, not so many where they get eaten. Make of that what you will.
Theres not much I can say about Sharkansas Women’s Prison Massacre that the title doesn’t. If you think it’s the best film title since ‘Snakes on a Plane’ then you’ll probably dig the film. If you think it all sounds a bit silly then welcome to sharksploitation baby! What did you expect?
A perfectly respectable three ‘bigger boats’ out of five for the ladies of Sharkansas.
Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica is the book I didn’t know I needed but I’m damn glad I have. It’s a wildly entertaining, gut-bustingly funny book filled to the brim with an infectious affection for these gory, silly and often downright inspired movies. Here’s hoping that as long as Hollywood keep making ‘em, Susan Snyder will keep writing about ‘em.
A thoroughly well-deserved five ‘Spielbergs’ out of five!
A thoroughly well-deserved five ‘Spielbergs’ out of five!
Encyclopedia Sharksploitanica by Susan Snyder
Five decades ago, Jaws scared the swimsuits off of us and lit the fuse for a beloved little horror movie sub-genre called Sharksploitation. From the blatant rip-offs of the 1970's to the CGI assault of modern movies, shark movies are going strong and still satiating our appetite for toothy carnage.
With her education as a marine biologist and her experience diving with sharks, Susan brings her distinct perspective to 85 of Sharkploitation's most notorious, ridiculous and sometimes pointless contributions to film. Don't let her fool you though. This is really a tongue-in-cheek love letter to shark cinema ... the good, the bad and the "so bad it's good".
In this all-teeth-no-bones collection of reviews, interviews, essays, rants and even some poetry, Susan dissects the genre as a whole and explores everything she loves, and hates, about Sharksploitation movies.
With her education as a marine biologist and her experience diving with sharks, Susan brings her distinct perspective to 85 of Sharkploitation's most notorious, ridiculous and sometimes pointless contributions to film. Don't let her fool you though. This is really a tongue-in-cheek love letter to shark cinema ... the good, the bad and the "so bad it's good".
In this all-teeth-no-bones collection of reviews, interviews, essays, rants and even some poetry, Susan dissects the genre as a whole and explores everything she loves, and hates, about Sharksploitation movies.
Richard is an avid reader and fan of all things horror. He supports Indie horror lit via Twitter (@RickReadsHorror) and reviews horror in all its forms for several websites including Horror Oasis and Sci Fi and Scary
TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE
THE REAL HORRORSHOW: INFLUENCE OF HORROR ON THE MUSIC OF TRENT REZNOR BY ADAM STEINER
the heart and soul of horror review websites
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TOO NEAR THE DEAD By Helen Grant
(Fledgling Press 2021)
Reviewed by Mario Guslandi
Let me start with a confession. I don’t particularly like novels. My suspension of disbelief doesn’t last long and with novels I may get easily bored. That’s why I mostly read ( and review) short stories. But occasionally I make exceptions when the novel’s author is one of my favourite short story writers. That’s exactly the case with Helen Grant, whose short stories I simply loved.
So here I am, commenting upon her latest dark novel, a long ride across the secrets of a comparatively new house, actually built on the foundations of an older mansion now long gone, in the Pertshire countryside.
Fen , a copy editor, and James ,a fairly successful writer, engaged and planning to marry shortly, move from London to the beautiful country house. Soon, however, terrible dreams start to torment Fen’s nights and even her relationship with James gets a bit strained.
Something or someone from the past is exerting a very bad influence spoiling Fen’s life.
And discovering the true nature of the menace won’t be either easy or quick.
Grant leads the reader with masterful hand within the dark, scary depths of a past still haunting the place, displaying once again her great storytelling ability.
Even for a short fiction lover like me, Grant’s novel worked beautifully ( although, personally, I would have made some trimming in the middle part of the story) and the final fireworks of suspense and terror left me totally enraptured.
Be smart and secure a copy as soon as you can.
TOO NEAR THE DEAD BY HELEN GRANT
Sometimes it’s terrifying, loving someone this much... For Fen Munro and her fiancé James, it is a dream come true: an escape from London to a beautiful house in the stunning Perthshire countryside. Barr Dubh house is modern, a building with no past at all. But someone walks the grounds, always dressed in lavender. Under a lichenous stone in an abandoned graveyard, a hideous secret lies buried. And at night, Fen is tormented by horrifying dreams. Someone wants Fen’s happiness, and nothing is going to stop them \- not even death...
TODAY ON THE GINGER NUTS OF HORROR WEBSITE
WHERE ALL IS NIGHT, AND STARLESS: THE WEIRD FICTION OF JOHN LINWOOD GRANT
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